Huawei receives piece of public security action in Kenya

Safaricom has confirmed that Huawei will be a supplier in the public security tender that the government awarded to the mobile network operator.

The government recently suspended the contract following increased pressure over how the tender was awarded and some concerns about a national security project being managed by a private company.

The confirmation by Safaricom’s CEO, Bob Collymore that Huawei is involved has only deepened the controversy, as Huawei lost the tender when it was originally offered due to apparently not meeting the required specifications.

"It is our understanding that the government chose to invite Safaricom to tender for the project due to the urgency of the security situation at hand and that is probably the most practical solution for the expeditious implementation of the system," Collymore told a parliamentary committee investigating the affair.

He also clarified that the costs had been misreported and that the bulk of the costs were for the initial phase, and would not need to be repeated again later.